With the advent of mobile smart phones and other communication devices capable of recording, sending, and receiving text, audio, video, images, and graphics, more and more people are recording and sharing experiences at an ever increasing rate. For example, people may record and share live video from a concert or share their thoughts on world events, as they unfold, with friends and/or strangers around the world. As more individuals augment their everyday experiences with technology by capturing and sharing thoughts and events in the moment, the need for instant communication has increased. Being the first to comment on an event or share a new video or photograph can carry personal import and in some cases, real value to people and businesses.
At the same time, the world of mobile communication has become more complex with individuals wanting and often needing to determine, with great detail, the audience for their content (e.g., public vs. private content). The costs of publically sharing private content (e.g., a compromising photograph) can be significant to an individual's private and professional life and discretion in audience selection is accordingly a major concern for individuals.
In practice, these two drivers are often at odds with each other. The instantaneous capture and sharing of experiences may be slowed by the necessity of selecting the appropriate audience for the content. Currently, an author must assign privacy rights to each piece of content and send it to the desired group of receivers as a public or private message. This can lead to the time consuming process of creating and/or editing a separate piece of content for each audience, taking the author out of the moment and distracting from the experience. In other instances, an author may have to tailor a single piece of content to fit multiple different audiences (public and private) which can stifle to author's ability to connect with either audience. In some circumstances, the desire to share in real-time can lead to the accidental public sharing of private data, with significant consequences.